What is Curated Content and How You Can Use It in Your Business
When adding content to social media, we can either create our own such as blogs, graphics and video or we have the option to curate content. In this blog post I explain what content curation is, how you can use it in your business and some of the methods for curating content.
What is Curated Content?
Content curation is the process of understanding your audience and sharing selected articles, videos, podcasts etc, written by others, that will inform and educate them via your social media channels, newsletters and your own blog content. This is good news for small businesses as consistently creating original content is hard work!
It differs to content creation which is where you are creating your own original content that you hope others will share via their own content curation strategy!
Aren’t you just sharing other people’s content? Yes, but you must credit and tag (if possible) the business/person and link to the original source, in the same way that you would do when referencing. This also builds links between you and the business you are tagging and your community.
And of course, there are other benefits to curating content as not only does it provide added interest to your social media feed, but you can also become a go-to source of knowledge which builds trust. Finally, it’s great for SEO, particularly if you are posting links in blog articles (backlinks).
Where can I find curated content relevant to my audience?
Curated content is everywhere; blogs, videos on social media platforms, websites, newsletters etc. Finding the right type of content for your audience and doing it efficiently is the key because you do not want to spend hours searching for curated content - you probably could have created your own content in that time.
Sites like Feedly and Flipboard are known as content aggregators. These desktop and mobile sites have access to blog articles, online news sites and RSS feeds. You select your topics of interest, or even specific websites, and the aggregators update your news feed with articles as and when they are published. Basically, you have up-to-date industry news in one place – great to use even if you don’t want to share it, but just want to keep up with what’s going on in your sector.
Another method is to use an app like Pocket to store articles that you find online. This stops the process of sending random links to your email that get buried in your inbox and never read. Pocket also has a content aggregation section for tailored content like Feedly and Flipboard. All three of the apps mentioned are free to use with various additional features available at extra cost.
Google Alerts is still around and is a great tool for monitoring specific words or topics and even your own business. Be as specific as possible otherwise you will be getting dozens of email alerts.
Creating your own lists in Twitter is also a good way to curate content and review what’s going on in your feed at the same time.
How do I post Curated Content?
I see a lot of posts that are just retweeted or links are posted with no explanation. To get the most value out of your curated content it's a good idea to briefly explain what the article, video etc is about and if possible tag the owner. You can usually share the post either using the social media share buttons within the blog or by sharing the URL to your post which will usually provide a pic and title of the article.
Tips for Curating Content
- Know your audience – post content that taps into their pain points
- Set up a system like Feedly or Flipboard to gather and review content
- Always reference and tag the original source
- Add your own viewpoint. You don’t just have to post a link, and it’s good to add your thoughts on the post and why it’s relevant (as you would with your own content)
- Schedule multiple curated content articles, video’s etc in advance in one go
Content curation when done correctly is a powerful way to add value to your social media presence, by being viewed as a trusted source of information in your industry. Sharing content also develops relationships with brands and organisations, builds community and provides opportunities to improve your SEO.
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